1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an expendable part such as an ink cartridge or a toner bottle that may be installed, used and replaced in an imaging apparatus. The present invention also relates to an expendable part installation structure that accommodates the expendable part, and an imaging apparatus implementing the expendable part installation structure accommodating the expendable part.
2. Description of the Related Art
In an imaging apparatus such as a color ink jet printer, an ink head having plural ink cartridges set to plural setting parts inside a box structure of the imaging apparatus is provided to thereby enable color printing of text and images on paper.
According to the conventional art, plural ink cartridges having identical shapes are arranged in a color printer, and thereby, the setting part of the ink head to which an ink cartridge of a specific color is to be set (installed) may be identified by matching a number or a color decal between the setting part and the ink cartridge, for example.
However, the identification method described above may be inconvenient for visually impaired persons or persons with impaired color vision. Accordingly, many imaging apparatuses implement fool-proof functions (structures) to prevent a user from setting an ink cartridge in a wrong position.
Nevertheless, the fool-proof measures implemented in the conventional art do not provide a user with prior knowledge as to which position an ink cartridge is to be set. Specifically, in the prior art, a user may only determine that he/she has set an ink cartridge in a wrong position after actually inserting the ink cartridge into the wrong setting position to thereby find out that the ink cartridge does not fit into the setting position.
Accordingly, the ink cartridge replacement procedure of the prior art imposes a significant burden on a visually impaired person, and even creates an inconvenience for a non-visually impaired person when he/she attempts to replace the ink cartridge in a dark environment such as under a desk.